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Cable Break In for the Naysayers

I still cannot believe that in this stage of Audio history there are still many who claim cable break in is imagined. They even go so far as claim it is our ears that break in to the new sound. Providing many studies in the way of scientific testing. Sigh...

I noticed such a recent discussion on the What’s Best Forum. So here is my response.

______________________________________________________________________________________________ I just experienced cable break in again firsthand. 10 Days ago, I bought a new set of the AudioQuest Thunderbird XLR 2M interconnects.

First impression, they sounded good, but then after about 30 hours of usage the music started sounding very closed in and with limited high frequencies. This continued until about 130 hours of music play time.

Then at this time, the cables started to open up and began to sound better and better each passing hour. I knew at the beginning they would come around because they sounded ok at first until the break in process started. But now they have way surpassed that original sound.

Now the soundstage has become huge with fantastic frequency extensions. Very pleased with the results. Scientifically I guess we can’t prove cable break in is real, but with good equipment, good ears, it is clearly a real event.

ozzy

ozzy
lanx0003
1,930 posts
 

@westcoastaudiophile  the only problem is a capacitors with time degrade performance (ESR goes up, capacitance down), tubes and semiconductors weaken drive strength, resistors accuracy degrade, overall noise increase..

That is why you want to use higher class film cap (instead of electrolytic cap), extremely stable capacitance and ESR and low dielectric loss.  Same thing with resistors.  You want to buy products such as R2R DAC with not only high precision resistors (like 0.05% used in Harmony DAC), low TCR, long term drift resistance, but also matched and cased in the protective housing like Harmony and MSB DACs, which provide thermal stability, electrical isolation, etc.

You must know in R2R DAC, the resistor ratio matching is more critical than the absolute tolerance, right?  MSB, in particular, takes extreme care and time to screen/select the matched resistors and that is part of the reason why it is so expensive.  Okay, need to take a break.  Let me know if you have other questions.  

lanx0003
1,930 posts
 

@kevemaher  Unfortunately, just like when I was in your (nonbeliever) camp, I did my due diligence digging but could not find any supportive measurement data. Even now, I still cannot identify hard data to support my claim from the believer camp. That said, I clearly stated that the change in my perception of the HDMI/I²S cable is more significant than with the Mirage USB cable, and I stand by what I have perceived.  Take it or leave it.  You do whatever suits you.

By the way, the ED Labs Mirage USB cable is currently 20% off.
 

kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher
408 posts
 

@lanx0003 Thanks for your well written reply. I appreciate your acknowledgment of my viewpoint without having to give up yours. Quite even handed.

westcoastaudiophile
819 posts
 

@lanx0003 "Let me know if you have other questions."

thanks for DAC design fundamentals lesson, that will”help me” to improve my next analog design circuit performance in next batch of 100M+ devices! LOL 

..still waiting your answer for my second question - "are you saying sound quality improves with usage time?" 

lanx0003
1,930 posts
 

Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying — break-in, burn-in, whatever you wish to call it. Do I really need to repeat myself after all the basic ABC questions have already been answered? Forgive my ignorance; I didn’t realize who you were before. As a manufacturer, you should know this better. Are you saying your products don’t require any burn-in?  Maybe I don't really know your actual question is.

 

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